The future of British watchmaking is looking brighter than ever, and it's about time

The renewal of British watchmaking is one of those evergreen stories that keeps promising without ever quite delivering. Until now, that is. What looked to be a curious event earlier in the year, a British Watch Show, had queues around the block for entrance, enticed by a line up that covered everything from kickstarter brands up to Roger Smith’s ultra-purist creations. What really caught the attention, however, was the variety of watchmaking niches being filled by British made, designed or (even) inspired outfits, with brands as varied as Fears, Mr. Jones, Studio Underd0g, Schofield and Christopher Ward showing that playing to perceived British strengths pays dividends both domestically and globally.

That success is being reprised in both a return to the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster next March and this autumn at the new Time & Tide Discovery Studio just off Oxford Circus, London. The ‘British Watchmaker Weekender’ (23 and 24 November) is essentially a curated pick of brands put together by Time & Tide and the British Watchmakers Alliance that veers toward the more collector friendly end of the range.

Stars of the show will undoubtedly be Studio Underd0g and Bremont. Studio Underd0g is a lockdown project that’s grown out of hand, moving from Kickstarter status to ordering bespoke mechanical movements in the 1,000’s in no time at all. Blending old-school formats (lots of bi-compax chronographs) with a beyond irreverent design sensibility – Richard Benc happily put a pizza-themed watch into production after an April Fool’s joke went viral – it is a combination that’s catnip to watch collectors at every level. It even attracted the attention of H. Moser & Cie (one of the higher end independent makers) with whom Studio Under0g launched a collaboration in September. New watches drop via the brand’s Instagram with the next timed to open the Weekender.

Bremont’s recalibration over the last years has not been without controversy, but as the dust settles, the new direction for the brand is becoming clearer. The Henley-based brand are launching a GMT version of the next generation Supermarine 300m that arrives in three colours (‘Ember Red’, 'Tundra Green’ and ‘Glacier Blue'). Slimmer in profile than the original Supermarines, the design has some nice touches including blue and green emission Super-LumiNova details.

The ‘British Watchmaker Weekender’ was on in London on 23 and 24 November 2024

timeandtidewatches.com